User Guide

ADOBE ATMOSPHERE 87
User Guide
Atmosphere native Surface Object type, Viewpoint Objects are considered “props”. That is, they do not participate
in global illumination calculated by Atmosphere, nor can they be edited in most ways in Atmosphere (they can be
positioned, scaled, and rotated as a whole, however). The advantage of props is that they do continue to retain most
of the characteristics they had when exported from the design application in which they were originally authored
(including key-frame animations, special surface properties, and so on), and they can be controlled at run-time
through the JavaScript API. Use props for dynamic objects within the scene. When importing a Viewpoint Object to
be used as a full-fl edged “citizen” of the scene (part of the environment), import the Viewpoint Object and then use
Atmosphere to convert it to a Surface Object.
Large, complex Viewpoint Objects with thousands of polygons can cause Atmosphere to perform sluggishly. Before
saving a 3-D model to be used in Atmosphere, optimize the model by reducing it to the smallest number of polygons
possible.
Viewpoint Objects can be imported using the File > Import > Viewpoint Object menu command or from a preset
loaded into the Object Presets palette. Viewpoint Objects that are imported will initially be placed at the Scene’s
origin, while Viewpoint Objects added from the Object Presets palette can be placed anywhere in the Scene by
clicking at that point. Select the object icon in the Object Presets palette, then click in the Scene at the point where
you wish to position the object. Holding down the Shift key allows placing multiple copies of the Viewpoint Object.
Viewpoint Objects presets are identifi ed by this icon and a title.
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Viewpoint Objects can also include animation sequences which are controlled by the JavaScript API at run-time See
chapter 14, “Adding Interactivity with Scripts.”
Moving Viewpoint Objects
Selecting and dragging a Viewpoint Object in a Scene Editor view will move the object about in the scene. If you
hold down the Shift key while dragging the Viewpoint Object, it will move vertically, perpendicular to the XY plane.
Holding down the Ctrl key while dragging will constrain it to moving along a single axis.
Tutorial: Adding a Viewpoint Object to a Scene
To add a Viewpoint Object to an existing scene, follow these steps.
1 With the Scene Editor active, select File > Import > Viewpoint Object. Select a Viewpoint Object to add to the
scene, then click the Open button (Viewpoint Object fi les must have the MTX, MTZ or XML fi le extension). The
Viewpoint Object will appear at the origin of the Scene view.